The cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to allow foreigners to buy 100% of device makers with prior government nod. With this it has become easier for foreign companies to fully own medical device-making plants in India, a move that could eventually make several products such as cardiac pacemakers, stents and surgical instruments cheaper.

In a statement, the government said it was easing “norms” for the medical devices industry to encourage inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI), adding that the domestic capital market “is not able to provide the much needed investment in the sector.”